Overview

Yaw, Pitch, and Roll Airplane Parts Four Forces Bernoullis Principle

Yaw, Pitch, and Roll

Yaw side to side Pitch up and down Roll rolling motion

Airplane Parts

Fuselage Wings Ailerons Flaps Rudder Horizontal Stabilizer Vertical Stabilizer Elevator

P-51D Mustang

Airplane Parts continued

Propeller Engine Engine Cowel Cockpit Landing Gear Nose Gear Spinner

P-38

Fuselage
The body of the airplane that all the
other parts are attached to. Can be made of many different substances such as aluminum or wood.
Wood Fuselage of Model Airplane

Wings
The part of the plane that creates lift
and controls roll. Has a rounded leading edge and tapered trailing edge which helps create lift. The wing design uses Bernoullis Principle.

Wing

Ailerons
Located at the top of the trailing edge
of the wings. Controls roll. Move up and down to control the direction of wind blowing over and under it.

Flaps
Located near at the trailing edge of the
wing near the fuselage. The Flaps increase lift.

Flaps

Rudder
Provides side to side control of airplane. Controls yaw. Used for maneuvers in the air and for
taxiing on runway.

Rudder

Horizontal Stabilizer
Horizontal with the fuselage. Helps airplane maintain level flight.

Horizontal Stabilizer

Vertical Stabilizer
Vertical to the horizontal stabilizer. Helps to airplane maintain level flight.

Vertical Stabilizer

Elevator
In line with and behind the horizontal
stabilizer. Controls pitch.

Elevator

Propeller
Uses the principle of a wing to create
thrust to move the airplane forward. Can have different number of blades on propeller. Design is similar to an airfoil.

Engine
Turns the propeller at high RPMs to
increase thrust.
Cessna Skyhawk Engine Jet Engine Model Airplane Engine

Engine Cowel
A cover to protect the engine and make
the plane aerodynamic.
Top View Side View

Engine Cowel

Cockpit
Place where the pilot controls the
airplane and where passengers sit. The airplane control, gauges, and indicators are held here.

Landing Gear
A frame with wheels that allow the
plane to takeoff and land. Some airplanes have retractable landing gear. Landing Gear

Nose Gear
The front landing gear when the plane
has three wheels to land.

Nosegear

Boeing 757 Nosegear

Spinner
A pointed cone available attached to
the propeller to reduce air drag. Available in different sizes.
Spinner

Airplane Parts Overview

Four Forces
Lift - Provides the force to overcome gravity and
raise the airplane.

Gravity - Invisible force from the Earth that pulls

all things down.

Thrust Force that moves the airplane forward; it

overcomes drag.

Drag- Friction of air on all the planes outer

surfaces to slow it down.

Four Forces Diagram

Thrust
The airflow over the wings that is needed
to generate lift is caused by thrusting the aircraft forwards through the air. Thrust is therefore the forward force acting on an aircraft It is produced by the engines by throwing air backwards

Thrust
Either a propeller can do this, or air can be
expelled from the rear (in the case of a jet engine)

Drag
When youre on a bicycle, the faster you
go the more resistance you encounter The force which hinders your progress is called drag The same can be said for aircraft. Every part of the aircraft over which air flows produces drag which resists forward motion

Drag
Thus the more drag there is, the more
thrust isHowever to get more thrust you need a bigger engine, more fuel and more weight, and therefore more expense The aircrafts designer wants to make the aircraft fly at the best possible speed for the available thrust Therefore he will try and reduce drag

Causes of Drag
The shape of the aircraft causes a great
deal of drag When any object moves through the air it is accompanied by a wake of complicated eddies and vortices In flight, engine power which should be used for forward power is wasted in making these vortices

Drag
Here is an extreme
example: a flat plate in an airflow. The drag is greatest at 90 to the airflow The drag is least when it is parallel to the airflow

Thrust and Drag in Straight and Level Flight

thrust drag

When thrust = drag, the aircraft

travels a constant speed. When thrust is greater than drag, the aircraft accelerates When drag is greater than thrust, the aircraft slows down.

Bernoullis Principle
As the wing passes through the air, the
curved upper part makes the air speed up because it has further to go than air passing under the wing. As the air speeds up on top of the wing, low pressure is created. The higher pressure under the wing creates lift.

Bernoullis Principle Diagram

Review Questions

What part of the airplane is most important? What are the ailerons job? Where are the flaps located? What does an engine cowel do? What is a spinner? What are the four forces? What is lift? What is Bernoullis principle?

References
NASA website www.nasa.gov www.aviation-history.com